Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), awso known as Johann Strauss Jr., de Younger, de Son (German: Sohn), Johann Baptist Strauss, son of Johann Strauss I, was an Austrian composer of wight music, particuwarwy dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 wawtzes, powkas, qwadriwwes, and oder types of dance music, as weww as severaw operettas and a bawwet. In his wifetime, he was known as "The Wawtz King", and was wargewy responsibwe for de popuwarity of de wawtz in Vienna during de 19f century.

Awdough de name Strauss can be found in reference books freqwentwy wif "ß" (Strauß), Strauss himsewf wrote his name wif a wong "s" and a round "s" (Strauſs), which was a repwacement form for de Fraktur-ß used in antiqwe manuscripts. His famiwy cawwed him "Schani", derived from de Itawian "Gianni", a diminutive of "Giovanni", de Itawian eqwivawent of "Johann" (John).

Strauss was born into a Cadowic famiwy in St Uwrich near Vienna (now a part of Neubau), Austria, on 25 October 1825, to de composer Johann Strauss I. His paternaw great-grandfader was a Hungarian Jew – a fact which de Nazis, who wionised Strauss's music as "so German", water tried to conceaw.[1] His fader did not want him to become a musician but rader a banker.[2] Neverdewess, Strauss Junior studied de viowin secretwy as a chiwd wif de first viowinist of his fader's orchestra, Franz Amon.[2] When his fader discovered his son secretwy practising on a viowin one day, he gave him a severe whipping, saying dat he was going to beat de music out of de boy.[3] It seems dat rader dan trying to avoid a Strauss rivawry, de ewder Strauss onwy wanted his son to escape de rigours of a musician's wife.[4] It was onwy when de fader abandoned his famiwy for a mistress, Emiwie Trampusch [de], dat de son was abwe to concentrate fuwwy on a career as a composer wif de support of his moder.[5]

Strauss studied counterpoint and harmony wif deorist Professor Joachim Hoffmann,[2] who owned a private music schoow. His tawents were awso recognized by composer Joseph Drechswer, who taught him exercises in harmony. It was during dat time dat he composed his onwy sacred work, de graduawe Tu qwi regis totum orbem (1844). His oder viowin teacher, Anton Kowwmann, who was de bawwet répétiteur of de Vienna Court Opera, awso wrote excewwent testimoniaws for him. Armed wif dese, he approached de Viennese audorities to appwy for a wicense to perform.[6] He initiawwy formed his smaww orchestra where he recruited his members at de Zur Stadt Bewgrad tavern, where musicians seeking work couwd be hired easiwy.[7]

Johann Strauss I's infwuence over de wocaw entertainment estabwishments meant dat many of dem were wary of offering de younger Strauss a contract for fear of angering de fader.[5] Strauss Jr. was abwe to persuade Dommayer's Casino in Hietzing, a suburb of Vienna, to awwow him to perform.[8] The ewder Strauss, in anger at his son's disobedience, and at dat of de proprietor, refused to ever pway again at Dommayer's Casino,[9] which had been de site of many of his earwier triumphs.

Strauss made his debut at Dommayer's in October 1844, where he performed some of his first works, such as de wawtzes "Sinngedichte", Op. 1 and "Gunstwerber", Op. 4 and de powka "Herzenswust", Op. 3.[2] Critics and de press were unanimous in deir praise for Strauss's music. A critic for Der Wanderer commented dat "Strauss’s name wiww be wordiwy continued in his son; chiwdren and chiwdren’s chiwdren can wook forward to de future, and dree-qwarter time wiww find a strong footing in him."[2]

Strauss at de beginning of his career

Despite de initiaw fanfare, Strauss found his earwy years as a composer difficuwt, but he soon won over audiences after accepting commissions to perform away from home. The first major appointment for de young composer was his award of de honorary position of "Kapewwmeister of de 2nd Vienna Citizen's Regiment", which had been weft vacant fowwowing Joseph Lanner's deaf two years before.[10]

Vienna was wracked by de revowutions of 1848 in de Austrian Empire and de intense rivawry between fader and son became much more apparent. Johann Jr. decided to side wif de revowutionaries. It was a decision dat was professionawwy disadvantageous, as de Austrian royawty twice denied him de much coveted 'KK Hofbawwmusikdirektor' position, which was first designated especiawwy for Johann I in recognition of his musicaw contributions. Furder, de younger Strauss was awso arrested by de Viennese audorities for pubwicwy pwaying "La Marseiwwaise", but was water acqwitted.[11] The ewder Strauss remained woyaw to de monarchy, and composed his "Radetzky March", Op. 228 (dedicated to de Habsburg fiewd marshaw Joseph Radetzky von Radetz), which wouwd become one of his best-known compositions.[12]

When de ewder Strauss died from scarwet fever in Vienna in 1849, de younger Strauss merged bof deir orchestras and engaged in furder tours.[2] Later, he awso composed a number of patriotic marches dedicated to de Habsburg Emperor Franz Josef I, such as de "Kaiser Franz-Josef Marsch" Op. 67 and de "Kaiser Franz Josef Rettungs Jubew-Marsch" Op. 126, probabwy to ingratiate himsewf in de eyes of de new monarch, who ascended to de Austrian drone after de 1848 revowution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[2]

Strauss Jr. eventuawwy attained greater fame dan his fader and became one of de most popuwar wawtz composers of de era, extensivewy touring Austria, Powand and Germany wif his orchestra. He appwied for de KK Hofbawwmusikdirektor (Music Director of de Royaw Court Bawws) position, which he finawwy attained in 1863,[2] after being denied severaw times before for his freqwent brushes wif de wocaw audorities.

In 1853, due to constant mentaw and physicaw demands, Strauss suffered a nervous breakdown, uh-hah-hah-hah.[2] He took a seven-week vacation in de countryside in de summer of dat year on de advice of doctors. Johann's younger broder Josef was persuaded by his famiwy to abandon his career as an engineer and take command of Johann's orchestra in de interim.[2]

Strauss married de singer Henrietta Treffz in 1862, and dey remained togeder untiw her deaf in 1878.[2] Six weeks after her deaf,[2][14] Strauss married de actress Angewika Dittrich. Dittrich was not a fervent supporter of his music, and deir differences in status and opinion, and especiawwy her indiscretion, wed him to seek a divorce.[2]

Strauss was not granted a divorce by de Roman Cadowic Church, and derefore changed rewigion and nationawity, and became a citizen of Saxe-Coburg-Goda in January 1887.[2] Strauss sought sowace in his dird wife Adewe Deutsch, whom he married in August 1887. She encouraged his creative tawent to fwow once more in his water years, resuwting in many famous compositions, such as de operettasDer Zigeunerbaron and Wawdmeister, and de wawtzes "Kaiser-Wawzer" Op. 437, "Kaiser Jubiwäum" Op. 434, and "Kwug Gretewein" Op. 462.

Awdough Strauss was de most sought-after composer of dance music in de watter hawf of de 19f century, stiff competition was present in de form of Karw Michaew Ziehrer and Émiwe Wawdteufew; de watter hewd a commanding position in Paris.[15] Phiwwip Fahrbach awso denied de younger Strauss de commanding position of de KK Hofbawwmusikdirektor when de watter first appwied for de post. The German operetta composer Jacqwes Offenbach, who made his name in Paris, awso posed a chawwenge to Strauss in de operetta fiewd.[16]

Johannes Brahms was a personaw friend of Strauss; de watter dedicated his wawtz "Seid umschwungen, Miwwionen!" ("Be Embraced, You Miwwions!"), Op. 443, to him.[19] A story is towd in biographies of bof men dat Strauss's wife Adewe approached Brahms wif a customary reqwest dat he autograph her fan, uh-hah-hah-hah. It was usuaw for de composer to inscribe a few measures of his best-known music, and den sign his name. Brahms, however, inscribed a few measures from de "Bwue Danube", and den wrote beneaf it: "Unfortunatewy, NOT by Johannes Brahms."[20]

Strauss was diagnosed wif pweuropneumonia, and on 3 June 1899 he died in Vienna, at de age of 73. He was buried in de Zentrawfriedhof. At de time of his deaf, he was stiww composing his bawwet Aschenbrödew.[22]

Most of de Strauss works dat are performed today may once have existed in a swightwy different form, as Eduard Strauss destroyed much of de originaw Strauss orchestraw archives in a furnace factory in Vienna's Mariahiwf district in 1907.[25] Eduard, den de onwy surviving broder of de dree, took dis drastic precaution after agreeing to a pact between himsewf and broder Josef dat whoever outwived de oder was to destroy deir works. The measure was intended to prevent de Strauss famiwy's works from being cwaimed by anoder composer. This may awso have been fuewed by Strauss's rivawry wif anoder of Vienna's popuwar wawtz and march composers, Karw Michaew Ziehrer.[26]

The wives of de Strauss dynasty members and deir worwd-renowned craft of composing Viennese wawtzes are awso briefwy documented in severaw tewevision adaptations, such as The Strauss Famiwy (1972), The Strauss Dynasty (1991)[27] and Strauss, de King of 3/4 Time (1995).[28] Many oder fiwms used his works and mewodies, and severaw fiwms have been based upon de wife of de musician, de most famous of which is cawwed The Great Wawtz (1938), redone in 1972.[29]

Awfred Hitchcock made a wow-budget biographicaw fiwm of Strauss in 1934 cawwed Wawtzes from Vienna.[30] After a trip to Vienna, Wawt Disney was inspired to create four feature fiwms. One of dose was The Wawtz King, a woosewy adapted biopic of Strauss, which aired as part of de Wonderfuw Worwd of Disney in de U.S. in 1963.[31] In Mikhaiw Buwgakov's 1940 (pubwished 1967) novew, The Master and Margarita, Strauss conducts de orchestra during Satan's Great Baww at de invitation of Behemof.